


Unexpected Ties

by Rinkafic



Series: Telpa 'verse [5]
Category: Firefly, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Firefly Crossover AU, M/M, Stargate Atlantis AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-12
Updated: 2011-09-12
Packaged: 2017-10-23 16:57:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/252652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinkafic/pseuds/Rinkafic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Warning: Slave!fic, BDSM, descriptions of prior abuse</p><p>Wrin Parr'ish learns a few things about his favorite telpa.  And perhaps a few things about himself as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Ties

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: I warned for character death, I modify that here to read *Apparent Character Death*
> 
> "Rule 10: Never Believe the death notice until you see the body."  
> Yan Sandasin - "Lizards"

“You’ll have to go to the Magistrar and get this settled, David, I do not have time for this.” The DranWrin crumpled the piece of paper in his hand into a ball and hurled it across the table at David. Quick reflexes honed over the years had him catching it easily. He unfolded it, daintily spread it out on the table, and pretended to take a great deal of time reading through it, faking three times as long as it actually took him to read..

“Unregistered soldiers? What does this have to do with us, DranWrin?” he asked the question casually and sat back in his chair.

“That is what you will find out when you handle it. I have far more important meetings to attend to.” As usual, the DranWrin did not elaborate on what these ‘important meetings’ might be, David suspected they involved alcohol, cards and a lot of naked brothel telpa. They always had an influx of brother trainees after one of the DranWrin’s ‘important meetings.’

Folding the summons, David stuck it into the leather case he carried in a pocket inside his robe. “I’ll look into it. Has there been any progress in the dispute with Bardero Mac’kay?”

Grunting, his father merely shook his head. David wondered if he had even been in contact with the arbitrators in the past few cycles to prod them along in their work. He added a trip to their offices to his mental schedule of errands.

The DranWrin scowled at David. “We wouldn’t be having these issues if you had taken their suit seriously and just married the DranWrin’s sister like they asked. We’d have had Bardero Mac’kay as an ally, rather than an enemy.”

“I told you back then to marry her off to Phil. I didn’t like her. Too smart mouthed and opinionated. And blonde.”

“And female,” Phil remarked from where he sat.

The DranWrin slammed his hand down on the table. “Do not start that argument again, Phil. Your brother’s proclivities have nothing to do with marriage. When he is commanded to marry, he will. I made the mistake of offering him a choice with Jean Mac’Kay. I will not be so accommodating when the next opportunity arises.”

David tamped down his anger and did not look at either his father or his brother. He kept his gaze locked on the wall across from him. He wanted to rail and scream and throw things. He didn’t want to marry. He knew he could very easily make his father go purple with rage with just a few words. He could be outrageous and tell his father he was madly in love with his telpa, his Little Priestess, and he was going to have her emancipated and then post banns and marry her. That might just kill the old man, which is why David was holding the statement in reserve for another time; he wasn’t ready to take over the running of Bardero Parr’ish full time just yet.

He glanced over to see Lorne in his usual spot, staring at the same spot on the wall he always chose for his focus. What did his telpa think about all day? He thought about asking Lorne, wondering what the response would be. Lorne was different than Laura. Where she would honestly say whatever was on her mind, Lorne would hold back and say as little as possible. Laura was refreshingly naïve; while Lorne had been brought up by Wrina Emma’gen and learned hard lessons in survival. He wondered if he’d ever be able to get under that protective layer Lorne kept around himself. Over the course of twenty years of dealing with telpa; training them, bartering them, bedding them, he had never felt this impulse to actually know one of his telpa. It unsettled him and annoyed him.

Since he was annoyed, he decided to annoy his father and Phil. Why be alone? He picked up his plate and held it out towards Lorne, dropping it on the table. “Lorne, eat!” There was no telpa command for ‘eat’ - it was not something a telpa usually did in the company of their owner.

He had never tried this before, giving over the whole plate. He usually just handed Lorne some food over his shoulder. Curious, David watched to see how the telpa would react.

Lorne blinked and his posture went tight, his shoulders rigid. David wondered, was he preparing to be struck? Lorne never flinched away from any strike, nor did he cry out, ever. He was obviously torn by the command; telpa were not permitted to eat from the main table. David sighed, reached over and picked up the plate, holding it out to him. “Eat, Lorne, we have a long day of errands, I don’t know when we’ll have time again.”

The telpa took the plate and began to eat. Sran Phil snorted and left the table, pushing past Lorne and leaving the room without further comment. David was mildly disappointed, he liked riling his brother, but preferred when he stayed in the room, driving him out was far less amusing.

“What’s next, David, will you sit him beside you?” The DranWrin sneered at Lorne.   
He ignored his father’s question because it annoyed The DranWrin when he did that. When Lorne finished eating and carefully slid the empty plate onto the table beside him, David wiped his chin and hands and pushed back.  _“Rer!”_ he snapped at Lorne, not needing to look, he knew his telpa would be two steps behind him.

“I’ll need a carriage,” Lorne said to the majordomo as they passed the front entrance of the Bardero.

“The big one, Wrin?”

“No.”

“Yes, Wrin. I have a message for you, from Anjenne, he wished to let you know that the new harness and winch system had arrived from the specialty maker.”

Smiling, David clapped his hands together. “I won’t need the carriage right away; this is far more interesting than errands! Lorne,  _Rer!_ ”

He led Lorne down through the stairwells to the training level. Catching a glimpse of the bald trainer, he bellowed, “Anjenne! Where is the new equipment?”

“Right this way, Wrin! I have already started to set it up.”

David went to the door of the training room and sauntered in. Anjenne had a ladder set up and two of his assistants were running the specially woven cording through an iron ring in a ceiling beam, as well as through a set of pulleys. David walked over and bent down to pick up the end of the cording, spinning it in his fingers. It was as thick around as his little finger. Smoother than ordinary rope, it would not fray as easily, being made up of dozens of smaller braided cords. It had cost a bit of coin; David could have bought a brothel telpa for the cost of the spool of cord.

Noticing that Lorne was showing an interest in what he was doing, leaning in closer to look at the cord, he handed it to him. “Stronger than rope.”

“The harness is here, Wrin.” Anjenne shook a pile of leather strapping at David, making the hardware jingle.

“Lorne,  _Rer, Fet!”_ David called as he went to take the harness form Anjenne. He turned it over in his hands a few times, trying to remember the way he had seen it demonstrated at the Wool’sey Bardero. Finding the belt, he was able to quickly separate out the parts.

He turned, expecting to find Lorne beside him, and was disconcerted to see his telpa still standing on the other side of the room, holding the cord loosely in his hand and staring up at the extra high ceiling of the training room. Lorne had never disobeyed an order before. It was so surprising that David wasn’t angry, just puzzled. “Lorne,  _Rer, Fet!”_  He repeated the commands, which made Anjenne frown and grunt in disapproval.

Lorne shook himself out of his stupor and scrambled to David’s side. David slid the wide belt of the harness around the telpa’s waist, fastening the four buckles at the center. The belt covered all the ribs, from breast to just below the belly. There were two strap-like belts that hooked at the base of the sides and went over the shoulders, crossing at the center of the back and front and fastening onto metal loops at the top of the wide belt, opposite the bottom loops. There were smaller straps that went around the thighs, connected to the main belt by chains. The chains could be pulled through a pair of metal loops at the center of the front. It was a support harness, meant to hold a telpa’s weight in a variety of positions.

He tugged on the straps and chains, making sure they were tightened. Then he walked over to stand beneath the ceiling ring, taking the cord from Lorne’s limp fingers and feeding it through rings on the back and sides of the belt. “Wrin David?” Lorne whispered quietly as he gulped and stared at the ceiling.

“Hhm?”

“What’s this for?”

Concentrating on what he was doing, David missed the slip in Lorne’s etiquette, and actually answered the question. Ordinarily, he’d have just slapped him. “Suspension harness. Latest thing, I saw it demonstrated at a party a few moons ago. It makes for ease of movement.”

He stepped back and tugged on the cord, pulling it tight through the pulleys until all the tension was taken up. He looked around at the walls and said to Anjenne, “We’ll need a place to secure the end.”

When he pulled the cord, Lorne was lifted off his feet, exactly in the manner the harness was designed to do. The telpa let out a startled yelp and instinctively kicked out, grabbing for the cords as he tried to regain his balance.

“Stop moving so much, you’re going to get yourself spun upside down!” David barked as he glanced over and saw Lorne struggling. He handed to cords to Max, who had been standing by the wall watching the proceedings with amusement. Max smirked mischievously and went back to the wall, drawing the tension more taught and raising Lorne up so that he was hanging well over David’s head. If he jumped up, David could reach his foot, but he had his dignity and had no intention of jumping when he had telpa to do the work for him.

He looked up and realized that something was wrong. Very wrong. Lorne was as pale as a sheet, and hanging limply in the harness, no longer struggling. “Lorne!” He called sharply, but the telpa didn’t look his way. “Lorne, look at me!”

Slowly, he did, and David winced at the look of absolute terror in his eyes, visible even this far below him. His voice was barely audible as he begged, “Please. Let me down, please, I’ll be good, please let me down. I won’t do it again. Please. Anything. Down. Please.”

Glaring over his shoulder, David barked, “Max! Let him down, I didn’t intend for him to be up where I couldn’t reach him! And clear the room!” Something told him this was going to be bad and he didn’t want witnesses. Lorne had earned the right to a little dignity these past moons with his good service.

The door slammed behind the others as Lorne’s feet hit the floor. He collapsed against David, forcing David to catch his full weight. He stumbled, almost falling; Lorne outweighed him considerably. Not certain what else to do, David fell back on his training, trying to get his telpa to obey simple commands again. “ _Jaa_.”

When Lorne didn’t respond, he was flummoxed. Lorne always responded to  _Jaa_  instantly, the telpa had knees of steel. He let the telpa slide to floor, where he sat with his head down, silent, frighteningly silent. This was nothing like Laura’s affliction. He thought that striking Lorne was not going to solve this problem. “Lorne? Look at me, Lorne.” When Lorne didn’t respond in any way, he clasped his chin and forced his face up. His eyes were blank.

David reached down and started unbuckling the harness. He wasn’t sweating, he wasn’t panting. He didn’t have any of the symptoms of a telpa in a panic. He was simply too quiet and it was unnerving David. Lorne was reliable and dependable and above all, unemotional. How had he managed to break him so quickly and completely, without even intending to?

He shoved the belt away and reached for the straps around Lorne’s thighs. When he glanced up, he saw that Lorne was watching his hands as they loosened the buckles. He slid the harness away, setting it aside. Lorne was the best telpa he had ever had, bar none. He didn’t like this at all.

“Talk to me, Lorne. Say something, say anything.” He grabbed Lorne’s wrists and started rubbing his thumbs into them, it worked with Laura, maybe it would help him.

It seemed to help a little bit. “No more,” Lorne whispered, blinking furiously. “I promise, I’ll be good.”

He’d said the same thing before. “I believe you, Lorne. You’re always good. I never have to correct you. No more what?”

“Up. No more Up. Please.”

David looked at the ceiling and then at Lorne. “Did someone punish you like that, Lorne?”

“I was bad. I went Up,” he muttered, staring at the floor.

This was not a telpa’s conditioning. This was not any method of training David knew of, or had ever heard about in his experience. One did not suspend a telpa to punish them, a telpa’s feet were supposed to be on the floor, or firmly attached to a post for punishment, secured, always secured. Hanging was even outlawed as a method of execution in both the north and the south. “Who put you up, Lorne?” When he didn’t answer, David cupped his chin again and forced him to look at him. “Did the Wrina do that to you?”

Lorne tried to look away, but David held him fast. He finally whispered in a small and shamed voice, “Yes.”

“This was not a punishment today, Lorne.” David picked up the harness and shook it to get Lorne’s attention. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t intend for you to think of this as a punishment.” Lorne stared at the harness.

“It’s meant for play, Lorne. I was just testing it out. You didn’t do anything to deserve a punishment, did you?”

He looked up at him and then slowly shook his head; his eyes had lost some of the glazed and panicked look. “Was it the height, is that what upset you?” Lorne looked up at the ceiling beam and then nodded.

He wondered how to handle this. When he had fallen from the saddle as a child, the Trainers always shoved him right back up, not allowing him time to wallow in fear. He looked at the harness and came to a decision. “I won’t have you being afraid like this,” David said quietly. “It will eat away at you.” He knew this from experience, how a small fear could grow into something that could consume you. “You can break yourself of any fear, over time.” He reached for the harness and wrapped it around Lorne’s waist again. “A little at a time. Control. No height, just the harness and a little lift, for now, to start.”

Lorne was chewing his lip, looking down at the belt with trepidation as David fastened the straps around his thighs again. “No height?”

“I promise. And if you do this, a boon.” David stood and held a hand out to his telpa. When Lorne clasped his wrist and let himself be pulled up, David leaned in and cupped a hand around the back of his head, pressing his lips to Lorne’s. Lorne opened to him and he swept his tongue in, deepening the kiss. He broke away, shaking his head. What was coming over him? He stepped over to the wall and picked up the cording.

“I’m pulling for tension first. Brace against it, don’t let it pull you up.”

Lorne’s jaw was set and he nodded. “If you need me to stop, call my name, I’ll stop. You have my permission.”

“Thank you, Wrin David.”

David pulled the cording and tightened the line. He felt Lorne pulling against him and stopped. “I’m going to pull you up now, just a little bit, about knee high.”

When Lorne nodded, David pulled the cord. “Stop straining against me, Lorne.”

The telpa fell forward as he let the harness lift him. He swung slowly back and forth, not far off the floor. David tied the cording around the frame of a whipping post and then walked over and crouched beside Lorne’s head. The telpa looked up at him awkwardly. “Are you certain this is for play, Wrin David? This does not seem like fun.”

Relieved to hear normality in his telpa’s voice again, David slapped his ass through his thin trousers. “Because you aren’t at the perfect height yet.” David stood and held a hand flat out at an even level with his own groin. “Now this is the perfect level.”

Lorne looked at him for a moment before comprehension dawned on him and he said, “Ohhhhh.”

“We’ll work up to it. Are you all right with this now?”

“Yes, Wrin David.”

“Let he harness do the work, Lorne, relax, go limp.” He let Lorne swing there for a while, until he saw his posture completely relax. “Enough for today. We’ll do more each day, a little longer, until we get you up to the perfect height.” He went and unwrapped the cording from the post and let Lorne slide to the floor. Lorne sat up and started undoing the harness himself this time.

“When did it start?”

Lorne didn’t even pretend that he didn’t understand the question. “Before I entered training, Wrina had me tied in the stables to teach me patience. I used to run around a lot; apparently I was a noisy child.”

“If I ever meet her again, she has many things to answer for,” David said, reaching down and pulling Lorne to his feet. He stroked his fingers across one of the scars on Lorne’s neck. “So many things. We have errands to do; we should let Anjenne and Max have the Training room back.  _Rer_.”

When Lorne fell into step behind him without any hesitation this time, David was relieved.

  


~*~

  


The Magistrar’s offices were closed; there was a small sign on the door that said they had an outbreak of Lussian Fever, the quarantine flag was hanging over the main doors, and David had not seen it as they had approached from the rear of the building. Covering his mouth with his handkerchief, David quickly backed away from the door without touching the knob. “Hold your breath!” He ordered Lorne and shoved at his shoulder to prod him into leaving. He didn’t dare breathe until they got to the carriage, and even then he kept the handkerchief over his face.

“Wrin?” Lorne asked as the carriage pulled away.

“Stupidity. They should have the flags at all the entrances! Lussian Fever. Have you had it?”

Lorne nodded. “The first year I was in the military, it ran through the camps when we were fighting on Sateda. A lot of men died.”

Nervously, David tucked his handkerchief into his pocket, fussing with the edges. “I never had it; our Bardero has never had it. When it finally gets to us, it is going to hit us very hard, I think.” He propped his chin on his hand and looked out at the street.

His stop at the arbitrators was not much more productive. He was forced to make an appointment for a few days later to come back.

David ordered the driver to go to the wine shop that he favored on the east side of The Springs. That always cheered him up.

The scent of wine coming off the barrels was like a balm, calming his irritations. With Lorne in tow, he made his way down into the underground shop, twisting through the curving corridors to get to the main tap room. It was part tavern, part shop, part social club here at Campbell’s. The proprietor waved as he caught sight of David and came over, a bottle in hand and a welcoming smile on his face.

“Wrin Parr’ish! It has been quite a while, welcome back. I have something you might like to try, a new pressing from overseas.”

David took the bottle and peered at the label, “Bardero Picard? I’ll try anything once.”

As the flavor hit his tongue, he realized that it was good, he liked it. “As usual, Charles, you have chosen an excellent vintage for me. I’ll take a case. Leave the bottle. And two glasses.” When Charles glanced over at Lorne, taking in his simple telpa’s apparel, David added, “My personal body telpa, Lorne.”

Charles nodded, while unusual, it was not unheard of for a body telpa to be pampered with food and drink. He went to a side cupboard and returned with two glasses, which he set down on a small side table between David and Lorne. He left them the bottle and then went to circulate among his other customers.

Pouring out the wine, David pushed a glass to Lorne. Eyeing the glass, Lorne looked around nervously before picking it up. It was one thing to irritate at home, but causing insult in public could lead to a scene. No one seemed to be paying them any attention.

“I can taste that this is from overseas.” Lorne remarked quietly after sniffing at the wine and then taking a sip.

“How so?” David leaned on the table and asked, tilting his head as he took another sip of the wine.

Lorne looked down into the glass and swirled it around before answering. “The barrel flavor is different, they use different trees.”

“You can tell that from the taste?”

“Yes, Wrin David. I was the Wrina’s food taster, I learned a lot about wine.”

Blinking at him, David wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Wrina Emma’gan had been so fearful of poisoning that she’d kept a telpa as a food taster? “Obviously, no one ever tried to poison her.”

“Four times, actually, Wrin David. I almost died the last time.”

“Did they catch the poisoner?”

“Yes. It was her consort, Halling. She had him drawn and quartered in the courtyard, with the entire Bardero watching as a lesson.”

The more David heard, the less he liked about Bardero Emma’gen. He was very glad it was a broken house now.

Seeing Campbell hovering, David waved him over. “Charles, it seems my telpa has an educated palate. Bring an assortment that you might not ordinarily bring me, I have a mind to make a game of testing him.”

Smiling at the thought of the sales this game might generate, Charles disappeared and returned a short time later with a tray of small decanters and a pair of fresh glasses. He poured the first and left the tray, letting the men taste and discuss at their leisure.

They spent a very pleasant hour deciding which wines to purchase, and David was delighted to have something new to take home, after Lorne talked him into a heavy and sweet dessert wine that he ordinarily would have passed up even trying.

Their last task for the day was to stop at one of the brothels and check the progress of the telpa that had been recently sent there. David was all business as he rapped at the door and waited. The door opened in a rush and a man stumbled out backwards, shouting at someone still inside, “Well, then keep the useless whore!”

“Mannerly as always, Wrin Mac’Kay?” David said with a smirk.

Mac’Kay spun around; his look of confusion turning to one of pure hatred as he saw that it was David speaking to him. “You!”

“Me?”

“If I had a knife, I’d gut you, here and now!” Mac’Kay hissed. He raised his fist and started towards David, but Lorne took one step forward, his demeanor immediately changing from subservient telpa to menacing body guard.

“Please step back, Wrin Mac’Kay, I do not wish to do you bodily injury.” Lorne said in a very polite tone, but the look on his face said that he was quite willing to inflict harm if necessary.

“Wise move, Parr’ish, keeping a body guard.” Mac’Kay stepped back and started down the stairs to the street. “One day, someone will do the world a favor and succeed in sticking a knife in you.”

“Me? What did I do?” David tried to edge past Lorne to get at Mac’Kay, but Lorne was stubbornly keeping between them.

Mac’Kay stopped on the street and looked up at him, hatred in his wide blue eyes. “I know what you are now, what Bardero Parr’ish is capable of. I praise the goddess every day that you didn’t marry my sister, that our houses were not joined.” He spat on the ground and stalked away.

“Friend of yours, Wrin Parr’ish?” The brothel Sassa asked from where she leaned in the doorway.

“Hardly a friend, Sassa Zoe. I do believe Rodney truly wants me dead.” David was shaken by the encounter. All the unpleasantness between the Barderos had been going through the Arbitrators, this was the first time David had spoken face to face with anyone form Bardero Mac’Kay.

“Come in.” Zoe reached for his arm and tugged him inside. “He’s bad business, Mac’Kay, don’t let him upset you. Kaylee, bring a tray!”

Following her into her office, David took a seat near her desk. Lorne stayed by the wall behind him. “Why was he shouting?”

“He didn’t like Kaylee, said she reminded him of someone else, probably an old flame that sent him off unsatisfied. He’s a bitter little man, David, pay him no mind.” She patted his hand comfortingly. David had always liked Zoe, with her beautiful exotic dark skin and huge eyes; she was a sight to look upon. He wondered where she had come from, which planet through the Ring was populated by people as lovely as she?

There was a tapping at the door and Kaylee tripped on her way in under the weight of the tray. Lorne reached out and caught the tray before it spilled; holding it up until the girl got her feet under her again. She smiled up at him sheepishly and whispered her gratitude.

With a disappointed shake of his head, David asked Kaylee, “Still tripping over those feet, telpa? I thought we’d broken you of that habit?”

“Apologies, Wrin Parr’ish.”

“Leave her be, David. She’s upset after dealing with Mac’Kay. He didn’t see fit to complain until after he was done using her, then he started getting rough.”

David nodded and pulled a letter from his billfold. “We received payment as agreed, along with your request for another five new telpa...” Their business progressed without any problems and when David left, he had a firm contract set up with Sassa Zoe that would see them through until the next taxing. He also took with them a dark haired young telpa that had been trained at Bardero Kavanagh, but not trained well. The girl, River, was flighty and difficult to control. Zoe had been ready to sell her off, but David had offered her a cut rate on a re-training to sweeten their dealings.

When David looked over at the girl, he knew immediately that this was going to take a long time. He would have never taken her for a brothel telpa in the first place. She was beautiful, but there was wildness in her eyes.

“I think I’ll give her over to my Little Priestess for training,” David remarked to Lorne as the carriage rolled away from Sassa Zoe’s.

“Do you think Laura can handle her, Wrin David?”

David chuckled. “Oh, yes. And if she cannot, Ranil will eat her alive. You’re to have a Zahi, River. And you will mind her, or I shall let her little wildcat loose on you. And then I’ll beat you.”

River’s eyes went wide and she nodded fearfully.

  


~*~

  


A late conference with the DranWrin and the heads of several Barderos kept David away from his chambers well into the night.  When he finally did retire, he was annoyed to find his bed empty and cold. 

With a huff of irritation, he stomped to his telpa’s antechamber and pushed the curtains aside.  In the light from the main chamber he could see Laura and Ranil were curled up asleep on one bed.  He thought that he should probably get them a bigger bed, since it looked like Ranil was settling in. 

Lorne was flat on his back, one arm thrown up over his head.  David almost turned away and left him there.  But he didn’t like sleeping alone.  He reached down and tugged on Lorne’s foot.  “Lorne.”

“Huh?”

“Come to bed.”

“’m in bed,” he muttered groggily.

“The wrong one.  Come along.”  David slapped his foot through the blanket.

Coming fully awake, Lorne rolled off the narrow bed and got to his feet, following David across the main chamber.  David looked over his shoulder at him as he pushed through the door of his bed chamber.  “I don’t like coming to fetch you.  You sleep in here from now on, Lorne. Leave the girls their privacy.”

“Yes, Wrin David.”  The telpa was weaving on his feet, waiting for a command. 

“Just go to bed, Lorne.”  David yanked the covers down and pointed a the mattress.

“Yes, Wrin David,” he yawned and stumbled over to the wide bed, falling face down into the pillow. 

David settled between the soft sheets and stared at the ceiling for a little while.  When he heard Lorne’s breathing even out, he slid over until he was pressed along the telpa’s side.  Then, he too slept. 

  


  


~*~

  


The fifth time David put Lorne in the harness; he was able to get him up to waist height and still have him be relaxed and calm.  He wanted him relaxed and calm, since the opposite had unsettled him so badly he hadn’t been himself since.  He found himself watching his telpa constantly.  It had been days since he’d taken any physical pleasure with any of the telpa, and he was tense. 

When he realized that he was quite likely brooding, David became angry with himself.

“Max, Anjenne, take Ja'han and get out!”  David shouted, clearing the room almost instantly.  He glared at Ja'han as Max dragged him out by the elbow.  The telpa was still in training, after nearly two years, he still needed constant reconditioning.  Maybe it was time to sell Ja'han off and admit that even Bardero Parr’ish couldn’t train every telpa. 

He strode over to pick up the cord and let Lorne down onto his feet.  “ _Gan_!”  He ordered sharply, the first time in a cycle he had done so.   

“The harness too, Wrin?”

“No.”

Understanding that his short reprieve was over, Lorne took off the trousers and the loincloth he was wearing beneath and kicked them aside.  He glanced at David to let him know he was ready to be lifted again, and David hoisted the cording and tied it off. 

“Feet down.”  He put a hand at Lorne’s waist to stop him from swinging.  The telpa was only able to get the balls of his feet onto the floor from the height he was at.  David stripped off his robe and tossed it over the cross nearby.  He dropped his trousers and tunic on the floor, he didn’t care about modesty in the Training room, he’d been naked in here often enough in the past.  He moved up behind Lorne, reaching out to stroke the round globes of his buttocks.

“ _Ven_ ,” he got the command out raggedly.  Lorne awkwardly spread his legs, lost his balance and started to swing to the side again.  With a smirk, David grabbed the cording and pulled him back into position.  Damn, he was achingly hard.  He spit copiously on his fingers and slicked Lorne up slightly and pressed against him.  He heard Lorne grunt at the intrusion, and pushed harder.  He couldn’t stop himself from murmuring what was going through his mind, “Let me hear you, Lorne.”

“Wrin David?”  There was confusion in the telpa’s voice.

Shit.  This was not the way to maintain discipline.  He was losing his control with Lorne.  He pulled back, intending to slam back into Lorne’s body.  He did not intend to say what he did next.  “I want to hear you, stop holding back from me, Lorne.”

Lorne looked over his shoulder, complete confusion in his eyes.  “I don’t... what?”

“Tell me how this feels.”  David shoved into him.

“Oh, goddess!” 

“Better.  Talk to me, Lorne, I want you talking.”  Orders, he had to keep giving the orders.  David used the swinging of the harness to work into a new rhythm as he plunged in and out of Lorne’s body.  But the telpa was still too quiet.  “Do you like this, Lorne?  Truth, or I’ll strap you to the cross and beat you when I’m done fucking you.”

“Yes.  Goddess, yes.  Missed this,” he groaned.  Lorne’s head dropped down, hanging between his arms as he clung to the cording.

Much better.  “You missed me taking you?”

“Yes, Wrin David.”

“Shall I go slower?  Or faster?  Or harder?  Or softer?  Do you want it sweet and gentle, Lorne?”

He shook his head furiously, sending his long hair flying in all directions.  “Harder, Wrin David.  Please, harder, faster.”

He was asking for something, he had done so only a handful of times in the past nine moons.  David gave it to him.  Lorne gasped and grunted in what seemed to be genuine pleasure as David took him.  He rocked Lorne in the harness, enjoying the extra sensations the swinging back and forth was adding to the joining.  Lorne gave up trying to keep his balance and wrapped his ankles around David’s legs, trying to pull him closer with each swing. 

He reached down and grasped Lorne’s hard cock, stroking him.  “Is this better, Lorne?  Like this?”

“Yes, goddess, yes.”

He couldn’t hold back any longer and came harder than he had in months.  He collapsed over Lorne’s back, jerking him until he too came.  He panted, trying to catch his breath, also trying to remember the last time he had been this invested in sex.  He’d never, ever, cared enough about a telpa to do what he had just done for Lorne. 

When he went soft, he pulled out and retrieved his trousers, jerking them up and knotting the ties in his haste to be dressed again.  He grabbed his tunic from the floor and tugged it over his head.  He went to untie the cords holding the harness.  He lowered Lorne until his feet were firmly on the floor and dropped the cords.

“Can you get yourself out?” David asked harshly.

“Yes, Wrin David.”

“Do so.  Then go see if Laura needs assistance with River today.  Beat the chit into submission if she gives you any backtalk, you have my permission.”  David stormed to the doors and left the Training room.  Without a plan, he headed for the gardens; he needed to walk, to be in motion.  He needed to think.

  


~*~

  


The gardens had been his mother’s refuge.  In the years since her death, many of the finer plantings had been neglected; only the most basic of upkeep was done.  His father didn’t see the point in wasting the coin on talented gardeners.  What had once been a beautiful oasis of color and scent was now just green. 

He found solace here at times, since no one else came here.  His father and brother shunned the grounds.  He could walk in peace.  Out here he was just David.  Not the Wrin.  He needed to be just David now. 

This ‘thing’ with Lorne was upsetting.  It had started as a lark, keeping him close to annoy his father, feeding him at the table, installing him as a body guard to have him around all the time, making Lorne share his bed.  He wanted the man close.  Worse, he needed the man close.

He ran a hand over his face.  He had to sell Lorne.  He had to put him aside.  This was out of control.  But the thought of doing that, of selling Lorne away made his gut clench.  Someone else disciplining Lorne, perhaps someone else like Wrina Emma’gen?  Someone else touching Lorne?  No.  No. The idea was reprehensible. Lorne was _his._

Oh, goddess.  He was in love with his body telpa.  He had broken the cardinal Trainer’s rule and gotten emotionally involved.  Now what?  He sank onto a stone bench near the wall and stared at a dribbling fountain.  A small amphibian hopped on the wide green plants growing in the fountain.  His mother would have been appalled, at the garden and at him.  Him, a level thirty Trainer, losing himself in a body telpa, it was a shock. 

He dropped his head into his hands and tried to think of what he was going to do.  What could he do?  It was an untenable situation.  He loved his body telpa.

David didn’t hear the man that came up behind him over the splashing of the fountain. 

He didn’t even realize he’d been stabbed until the blade came through the front of his tunic, poking his arm before it was withdrawn.  As the air whooshed out of his lungs, he looked down at the blood pooling into his lap and had a moment to think that it burned before he blacked out.


End file.
